Congrats to the boys! Here's one article from today's NST... read thru... till u see the line in red... ------ Badminton/All England Championships: Carve their names with pride 12 Mar 2007 K.M. Boopathy KOO Kien Keat and Tan Boon Heong yet again demonstrated why they are the world’s most exciting young pair when they beat China’s world champions Fu Haifeng-Cai Yun to end Malaysia’s 25-year wait for an All England men’s doubles title at the National Indoor Arena in Birmingham yesterday. And the Malaysia pair did it in dazzling style winning 21-15, 21-18 in a gripping 39 minutes. "It was such an important title for us. It is definitely our first major victory and more meaningful than the Asian Games gold," said a delighted Kien Keat. "It has been 25 years since the previous victory and we are proud of the feat." Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi called Khoo Kien Keat immediately after the match to offer his congratulations to the pair. The pair’s staggering success rate now stands at three titles in five tournaments since Kien Keat, 22, and Boon Heong, 20, competed in the Japan Open last October. Kien Keat-Boon Heong announced their arrival on the world stage when they ended Malaysia’s 36-year-wait for an Asian Games badminton gold in Doha last December. National men’s doubles coach Rexy Mainaky, after the painful episode of seeing last year’s All England title snatched by Denmark’s Jens Eriksen-Martin Lundgaard Hansen despite having three pairs in the semi-finals, had badly wanted his players win it this year. And this they did. Kien Keat-Boon Heong rose to the occasion to deny Haifeng-Cai Yun their second crown after having won the title in 2005. Kien Keat-Boon Heong started cautiously but once they settled in, there was no stopping the Malaysians with Kien Keat dominant at the baseline, while Boon Heong’s superb netplay earned vital points. Kien Keat-Boon Heong wrapped up the first game 21-15 but, as is always the case, they started getting fancy with their strokes which nearly cost them the second game. However, realising that fancy play was not helping them, they reverted to their attacking game and put the pressure on the World No 1 pair who started losing their grip. Kien Keat, after securing match point at 20-18, could not help himself and did a quick jig which signalled the Malaysians pairs’ confidence which they displayed by winning the vital point, the game and the title just minutes later, much to the relief of the Malaysian bench and supporters. "Our strategy was to play fast as Haifeng-Cai Yun are quicker on court and we needed to outdo them in this area," said Kien Keat. "I didn’t feel the pressure playing the final but I am feeling it now as I must shave my head bald. That was the bet I took with my teammates if I win but I don’t know if I will do or not." "Boon Heong played well today (yesterday) and our hope is that we can continue playing like this and win more major titles." Rexy, who turned 39 on Friday, said that the victory is not just because of his their abilities but also the duo’s discipline and their humbleness despite their new found fame. "Firstly, I would like to thank god for helping Kien Keat-Boon Heong achieve this feat. My commitment was to make them realise that arrogance is not the way of champions but being humble," said Rexy. "God has answered our prayers and we now have two players who are not just good but also learning fast how to cope with fame without being cocky. "I’m really happy that I received this belated birthday present and the win was not a fluke." Sports Minister Datuk Azalina Othman also conveyed her congratulations to the top young pair and hopes their victory will rub off on other Malaysian athletes. "It’s good that this young pair is coming up as Malaysian sport before this was all about Nicol David and the bowlers," said Azalina. "Their goal now should be the Olympic gold medal next year in China." In the men’s singles played earlier, China’s World No 1 Lin Dan beat compatriot Chen Yu 21-13, 21-12 in 32 minutes to seal his third straight All England singles title. Results — (All finals) Men’s singles: Lin Dan (Chn) bt Chen Yu (Chn) 21-13, 21-12. Doubles: Koo Kien Keat-Tan Boon Heong (Mas) bt Fu Haifeng-Cai Yun (Chn) 21-15, 21-18. Women’s singles: Xie Xingfang (Chn) bt Pi Hongyan (Fra) 21-6, 21-13. Doubles: Wei Yili-Zhang Yawen (Chn) bt Yang Wei-Zhang Jiewen (Chn) 21-16, 8-21, 24-22. Mixed doubles: Zheng Bo-Gao Ling (Chn) bt Anthony Clark-Donna Kellogg (Eng) 16-21, 21-18, 21-14.
man, they're just awesome!! they played so well in tis tournament, their play were just superb.. none of their opponents could answer to their super fast, attacking display.. on top of tat, their defence were solid as well.. i was there throughout the quarters, semis and final.. gosh, amazing feat.. though they're getting famous now, but they havent forgotten their fans at all.. met them outside the stadium after their win, as they were preparing for rtm interview.. a friend of mine wanted boon heong's autograph, but her pen was off.. who on earth would thought tat boon heong would actually take out his own pen from his bag and signed for everyone there?? not forgetting the many pics tat they took with everyone there... lol... i managed to talk to them abit, and got boon heong's personal email.. cool isnt it?? heez..
Now KKK/TBH have beaten 6 out of the Top-10 MD pairs (CY/FHF, JE/MLH, MK/HS, AC/RB, LH/AYC, TG/CW) at international meets. They haven't faced the other 4 pairs yet (JJS/LYD, CTF/LWW [wonder whether the veteran pair has beaten them during the training at home], RS/EH, Njoto/Wiratama). On the other hand, they were defeated in their first encounter with a Korean pair - LJJ/HJM (at KO). Apart from the absence of Rexy and Koreans' homeground advantage, I wonder if Koreans will become their nemesis in the future?
Correction, that not the first time they meet.They already meet 3 times(correct me if i'm wrong),they kill LJJ/HJM once at Asian Games Doha in Individual even but failed in team even ,now it 2-1 credit to Korean.
The first time they met LJJ/HJM, I think, was at the Asian Games group stage where they lost. But in the individual games Round of 16, they beat the pair and went on to win the GOLD MEDAL !
all my respects goes to KKK/TBH. my friends and i got the seat on the third row....so close to the court, can hear the players screaming and shouting....so cool. but the steward kept giving us warning not to take photos. definitely our faces will appear in TV. (saw ourselves in the big screen a few times as we shouted 'malaysia boleh' so loudly until we silenced the entire block of chinese fans who sat beside us. we are only 14 ppl but our voices were way louder than a 50++ chinese fans). even our shouting attracted the malaysian photographer who purposely asked us to pose for photos. thrill man!!! KKK was very friendly to us...we had a nice chat with him during his medal walk-round. he even spent some time to sign all our tickets. this was some of the conversations... my friends: later we went to Chinatown to eat together ah... KKK: no problem... TBH seem to be a bit shy. he walked away quickly. to be honest...the chant 'malaysia boleh' is more forceful, powerful and more elegant than the chant 'zong gou dui jia you' which is very monotonous and dull. No offense....this was told personally by a few british fans who sat in front of us.
hhehehehe....pull a "hafiz", not possible, this all "hafiz" thingy is copyright reserved by our all mighty HH only. Only HH can be consistently inconsistent. But i heard that our yoyo king was playing with injury when he lost in AE. is it true?
i was jumping around and moving my hands like i've striked a million dollar lottery when i hit my gf's head (was next to me) so hard until my neighbours heard it.
NO NO NO....the question is will KKK manage to get his head to a barber's scissor before Swiss Open? Will KKK vow to shave again (hmmmmm..)........if he won WC later this year?
I agree with what rexy said.Arrogance is definetely not the way of champions but being humble is only the ways.Now i hope they remember this forever and with rexy,i have confident that they managed the take all the pressure and continue fighting.
The winning characteristic of KKK/TBH is that they are mentally tough; they have no fear. Or maybe they are just too young to know fear yet. Just watch the semifinal with JE/MLH. The Danes are supposed to be the masters of psychology. But KKK/TBH won big in the psychological aspect, especially against MLH.
Both of them are doing alright. I don't think KKK will have his head shaved bald in Swiss Open.. its cold. Maybe he will do it when he come back to Msia.. hahah but you will neverknow.. maybe his teammates will shave for him there in Swiss open
My heartiest congratulations to this talented pair and may they continue to improve and make the Beijing Olympic gold their most important target. Congratualtions too to Boon Heong's parents for having faith in him and the badminton loving fans in Kedah, especially TBH's father's friends, including our very own kokcheng. Just like to see how KKK would look like with his bald head. If he is still bald when he comes down to Singapore for the Aviva Open, I would like to have a pic taken with him. I already had one with him and his lady partner during the Melbourne Commonwealth Games last March!
All KKK needs to do now is vow to get his hair back instantly should he reach the SF of SwO (discount given for playing 2 events there!) That way he get to keep his hair before getting back home.
reli feel the happiness after the winning of KKK & TBH, ending the draught of Malaysia in MD All England for 25 yrs. Can't stop to imagine the new look of KKK....
Hahaha,today most of Malaysian newspaper had KKK/TBH on front page.It tribute to them coz makes all Malaysian happy.I'm still on the high sky now.
■ 經過了25年漫長的等待，古健傑（右）與陳文宏週日（11日）終於在伯明翰舉行的全英羽球賽上再度捧回了男子雙打冠軍，實現了國人的期望。健傑與文宏是在男雙決賽中以21比15、21比18兩局直落壓倒世界排名第一的中國球員蔡贇與傅海峰，在世界最悠久，創辦於1898年的全英羽球賽上奪得至高榮譽。（法新社照片）
